Overview of the demographic statistics

According to the 2004 Moldovan Census, 3,383,332 people lived in the areas controlled by the central government of Moldova. According to the 2004 Census in Transnistria, 555,347 people lived in the breakaway Transnistria, including the city of Bender, and the other localities de facto controlled by Transnistrian authorities. Thus, the total population of the country in 2004 amounted to 3,938,679.

Demographics of Moldova, data of FAO, 2005; number of inhabitants in thousands.

Note:1 The breakaway Transnistrian authorities have counties as urban only the population of the town of Grigoriopol, while that of the town of Maiac was counted as rural.2 The breakaway Transnistrian authorities have counties as urban only the population of the towns of Slobozia and Dnestrovsc, while those of the towns of Crasnoe and Tiraspolul Nou were counted as rural.

Vital Statistics[5][6]

Total area

Average population (x 1000)

Live births

Deaths

Natural change

Crude birth rate (per 1000)

Crude death rate (per 1000)

Natural change (per 1000)

Fertility rates

Urban Fertility

Rural Fertility

1950

2 341

91 100

26 400

64 700

30.9

12.3

18.6

1951

2 381

91 700

26 000

65 700

28.5

10.9

17.6

1952

2 432

80 900

30 900

50 000

29.3

12.7

16.6

1953

2 491

79 100

23 300

55 800

26.8

9.4

17.4

1954

2 557

83 600

24 100

59 500

32.7

9.4

23.3

1955

2 627

79 800

21 900

57 900

30.4

8.3

22.0

1956

2 701

81 300

20 100

61 200

30.1

7.4

22.7

1957

2 777

85 700

21 100

64 600

30.9

7.6

23.3

1958

2 853

87 500

18 700

68 800

30.7

6.6

24.1

3,54

1959

2 929

92 200

21 500

70 700

31.5

7.3

24.1

3,64

1960

3 003

87 910

19 290

68 620

29.3

6.4

22.9

3,41

1961

3 073

86 683

19 590

67 093

28.2

6.4

21.8

3,20

1962

3 141

80 494

21 365

59 129

25.6

6.8

18.8

3,00

1963

3 208

78 422

20 737

57 685

24.4

6.5

18.0

2,89

1964

3 273

73 583

19 944

53 639

22.5

6.1

16.4

2,71

1965

3 335

67 996

20 571

47 425

20.4

6.2

14.2

2,68

1966

3 395

71 406

21 474

49 326

21.0

6.3

14.5

2,73

1967

3 453

71 380

23 406

47 294

20.7

6.8

13.7

2,69

1968

3 506

69 997

24 268

45 532

20.0

6.9

13.0

2,65

1969

3 549

67 575

26 249

40 651

19.0

7.4

11.5

2,58

1970

3 594

69 778

26 577

43 201

19.4

7.4

12.0

2,56

1971

3 647

73 643

27 889

45 754

20.2

7.6

12.5

2,63

1972

3 700

76 198

28 001

48 197

20.6

7.6

13.0

2,63

1973

3 748

76 339

30 756

45 583

20.4

8.2

12.2

2,59

1974

3 794

77 474

32 216

45 258

20.4

8.5

11.9

2,55

1975

3 839

79 169

35 635

43 534

20.6

9.3

11.3

2,52

1976

3 877

79 863

34 812

45 051

20.6

9.0

11.6

2,46

1977

3 910

79 022

37 250

41 772

20.2

9.5

10.7

2,40

1978

3 936

78 994

38 410

40 584

20.1

9.8

10.3

2,38

1,70

3,00

1979

3 967

80 152

41 729

38 423

20.2

10.5

9.7

2,39

1,80

2,90

1980

4 010

79 580

40 472

39 108

19.8

10.1

9.8

2,41

1,80

2,90

1981

4 054

82 279

41 476

40 803

20.3

10.2

10.1

2,45

1,80

3,10

1982

4 097

83 258

41 046

42 212

20.3

10.0

10.3

2,43

1,79

3,19

1983

4 137

91 304

44 329

46 975

22.1

10.7

11.4

2,57

1,87

3,46

1984

4 175

89 637

45 537

44 100

21.5

10.9

10.6

2,67

1,95

3,65

1985

4 214

90 453

46 075

44 378

21.5

10.9

10.5

2,70

2,00

3,70

1986

4 255

94 726

40 437

54 289

22.3

9.5

12.8

2,78

2,00

3,80

1987

4 290

91 762

40 185

51 577

21.4

9.4

12.0

2,70

2,10

3,80

1988

4 321

88 568

40 912

47 656

20.5

9.5

11.0

2,63

2,00

3,60

1989

4 349

82 221

40 113

42 108

18.9

9.2

9.7

2,46

2,02

3,00

1990

4 364

77 085

42 427

34 658

17.7

9.7

7.9

2,39

1,91

3,07

1991

4 363

72 020

45 849

26 171

16.5

10.5

6.0

2,26

1,79

2,84

1992

4 353

69 654

44 522

25 132

16.0

10.2

5.8

2,21

1,68

2,86

1993

4 350

66 179

46 637

19 542

15.2

10.7

4.5

2,10

1,53

2,77

1994

4 350

62 085

52 153

9 932

14.3

12.0

2.3

1,95

1,44

2,54

1995

4 340

56 411

52 969

3 442

13.0

12.2

0.8

1,76

1,31

2,24

1996

4 325

51 865

49 748

2 117

12.0

11.5

0.5

1,60

1,19

2,05

1997

4 311

51 286

51 138

148

11.9

11.9

0.0

1,55

1998

4 299

46 755

47 691

– 936

10.9

11.1

-0.2

1,48

1999

4 287

43 511

48 904

-5 393

10.1

11.4

-1.3

1,43

Moldova under the central government control

Average population (x 1000)

Live births

Deaths

Natural change

Crude birth rate (per 1000)

Crude death rate (per 1000)

Natural change (per 1000)

Total fertility rate (TFR)

Urban TFR

Rural TFR

1997

3 654

45 583

42 957

2 626

12.5

11.8

0.7

1.70

1.20

2.10

1998

3 652

41 332

39 922

1 410

11.3

10.9

0.4

1.49

1.12

1.82

1999

3 647

38 501

41 315

-2 814

10.6

11.3

-0.8

1.37

1.05

1.64

2000

3 640

36 939

41 224

-4 285

10.2

11.3

-1.2

1.29

1.02

1.49

2001

3 631

36 448

40 075

-3 627

10.0

11.0

-1.0

1.25

1.02

1.42

2002

3 623

35 705

41 852

-6 147

9.9

11.6

-1.7

1.21

1.04

1.34

2003

3 613

36 471

43 079

-6 608

10.1

11.9

-1.8

1.22

1.04

1.35

2004

3 604

38 272

41 668

-3 396

10.6

11.6

-0.9

1.26

1.14

1.34

2005

3 595

37 695

44 689

-6 994

10.5

12.4

-1.9

1.22

1.09

1.30

2006

3 586

37 587

43 137

-5 550

10.5

12.0

-1.5

1.23

1.03

1.39

2007

3 577

37 973

43 050

-5 077

10.6

12.0

-1.4

1.26

0.97

1.54

2008

3 570

39 018

41 948

-2 930

10.9

11.7

-0.8

1.28

1.02

1.53

2009

3 566

40 809

42 122

-1 313

11.4

11.8

-0.4

1.33

1.05

1.58

2010

3 563

40 474

43 631

-3 157

11.4

12.3

-0.9

1.31

1.06

1.53

2011

3 560

39 182

39 249

-67

11.0

11.0

-0.0

1.27

1.01

1.48

2012

3 560

39 234

39 560

-326

11.0

11.1

-0.1

1.28

1.03

1.48

2013

3 559

37 859

38 060

-201

10.6

10.7

-0.1

Transnistrian-controlled areas[7]

Average population (x 1000)

Live births

Deaths

Natural change

Crude birth rate (per 1000)

Crude death rate (per 1000)

Natural change (per 1000)

1997

657

5 703

8 181

-2 478

8.7

12.5

-3.8

1998

647

5 423

7 769

-2 346

8.4

12.0

-3.6

1999

640

5 010

7 589

-2 579

7.8

11.9

-4.0

2000

656

5 010

7 770

-2 760

7.6

11.8

-4.2

2001

647

4 530

7 770

-3 240

7.0

12.0

-5.0

2002

638

4 660

8 100

-3 440

7.3

12.7

-5.4

2003

629

4 460

8 170

-3 710

7.1

13.0

-5.9

2004

558

4 840

8 031

-3 191

8.7

14.4

-5.7

2005

551

4 664

8 186

-3 522

8.5

14.8

-6.4

2006

544

4 840

8 320

-3 480

8.9

15.3

-6.4

2007

537

4 893

8 132

-3 239

9.1

15.1

-6.0

2008

531

5 290

7 967

-2 677

10.0

15.0

-5.0

2009

525

5 189

7 454

-2 265

9.9

14.2

-4.3

2010

520

5 189

7 709

-2 520

10.0

14.8

-4.8

2011

516

4 999

7 289

-2 290

9.7

14.1

-4.4

2012

511

5 173

7 280

-2 107

10.1

14.2

-4.1

2013

507

4 825

6 867

-2 042

9.5

13.5

-4.0

Ethnic groups

Moldovans are the largest ethnic group in Moldova. According to the combined data of the census in the government controlled area and the census in Transnistria in 2004 they account for 69.6% of the country's population. The proportion of Ukrainians and Russians decreased considerably in comparison to the last Soviet census in 1989: from 13.8% to 11.2% and from 13.0% to 9.4% respectively. This is mostly due to emigration. Ukrainians mostly live in the east (Transnistria) and the north, while Russians mostly live in urban areas: 27% of all Russians live in Chişinău, 18% live in Tiraspol, 11% in Bender and 6% in Bălţi. The Gagauz people are the fourth-largest ethnic group (3.8% in 2004). Most of them live in the south of Moldova in the autonomous region of Gagauzia.

1 Source: [1]. 2 Source: [2]. 3 Source: [3]. 4 Source: [4]. 5 Combined population of the government controlled area and Transnistria 6 There is an ongoing controversy, whether Romanians and Moldovans should be counted together.

Moldova under the central government control

Ethnic composition of the main part of Moldova, according to the 2004 census, was:

1There is an ongoing controversy over whether Moldovans are a subset of Romanians, or a distinct ethnic group. At the 2004 Moldovan Census, citizens could declare only one nationality. Consequently, one could not declare oneself both Moldovan and Romanian.

The number of inhabitants of Slobozia District + that of the commune Chiţcani was given by Transnisrian authorities as 95,742. Other sources indicate ~9,000 for Chiţcani. In this table it is assumed there are 9,000 inhabitantts in Chiţcani, and 86,742 in Slobozia District. Should the exact data of the census for Chiţcani be available, the entries in the lines of Slobozia District and of Chiţcani should be corrected accordingly.

Transnistrian authorities have published the ethnic composition for the combined population of the Dubăsari District and the village of Roghi in Molovata Nouă commune. Other sources indicate that the latter is almost entirely Moldovan. In this table it is assumed that of the 715 inhabitants of this village, 700 are Moldovan and 15 are others. Should the exact ethnicity data of the census for Roghi be available, the entries for ethnicities in the lines of Dubăsari District and of Roghi should be corrected accordingly.

Percentages are calculated from the absolute numbers

Languages

Romanian is the official language of Moldova. However, many speakers use the term Moldovan to describe the language they speak, despite the fact that its literary standard is virtually identical to Romanian.

Native language

Currently, 2,588,355 people or 76.51% of the inhabitants of right bank Moldova (proper) have Moldovan/Romanian as native language, of which 2,029,847 (60.00%) declared it Moldovan and 558,508 (16.51%) declared it Romanian. 380,796 people or 11.26% have Russian as native language, 186,394 or 5.51% – Ukrainian, 137,774 or 4.07% – Gagauz, 54,401 or 1.61% – Bulgarian, 21,504 or 0.63% – another language, and 14,108 or 0.41% did not declare one.

First language in daily use

According to the 2004 census, 2,543,354 people or 75.17% of the inhabitants of Moldova (proper) have Moldovan/Romanian as first language, of which 1,988,540 (58.77%) declared it Moldovan and 554,814 (16.40%) declared it Romanian. 540,990 people or 15.99% have Russian as first language, 130,114 or 3.85% – Ukrainian, 104,890 or 3.10% – Gagauz, 38,565 or 1.14% – Bulgarian, 11,318 or 0.34% – another language, and 14,101 or 0.41% did not declare one.

In the Soviet census of 1989, 62% of the total population claimed Moldovan as their native language. Only 4% of the entire population claimed Moldovan as a second language.

In 1979, Russian was claimed as a native language by a large proportion of Jews (66%) and Belarusians (62%), and by a significant proportion of Ukrainians (30%). Proportions of other ethnicities naming Russian as a native language ranged from 17% of Bulgarians to 3% of Moldovans (Russian was more spoken by urban Moldovans than by rural Moldovans). Russian was claimed as a second language by a sizeable proportion of all ethnicities: Moldovans (46%), Ukrainians (43%), Gagauz (68%), Jews (30%), Bulgarians (67%), Belarusians (34%), Germans (53%), Roma (36%), and Poles (24%).

Religion

According to the 2004 census, the population of Moldova has the following religious composition:

Notes: 75,727 (2.24% of population) did not answer that question.a Known as Creştini după Evanghelie, Pentecostal group.b Traditionally Orthodox Lipovans.

History

In 1940–1941, and 1944–1991, the Soviet government strictly limited the activities of the Orthodox Church (and all religions) and at times sought to exploit it, with the ultimate goal of abolishing it and all religious activity altogether. Most Orthodox churches and monasteries in Moldova were demolished or converted to other uses, such as administrative buildings or warehouses, and clergy were sometimes punished for leading services. Still, many believers continued to practice their faith.

People in the independent Moldova have much greater religious freedom than they did in Soviet times. Legislation passed in 1992 guarantees religious freedom, but requires all religious groups to be officially recognized by the government.

Orthodox Christians

In 1991, Moldova had 853 Orthodox churches and eleven Orthodox monasteries (four for monks and seven for nuns). In 1992 construction or restoration of 221 churches was underway, but clergy remained in short supply. As of 2004, Christian Orthodox constitute the vast majority of the population in all districts of Moldova.

In the interwar period, the vast majority of ethnic Moldovans belonged to the Romanian Orthodox Church (Bucharest Patriarchate), but today both Romanian and Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) have jurisdiction in Moldova, with the latter having more parishes. According to the local needs, liturgy is performed in Romanian, Russian, and Turkic (Gagauz). After the revival of religious activity in the last 20 years, a minority of the clergy and the faithful wanted to return to the Bucharest Patriarchate (Metropolis of Bessarabia). Because higher-level church authorities were unable to resolve the matter, Moldova now has two episcopates, one for each patriarchate. After the Soviet occupation in 1940, the Metropolis was downgraded to a Bishopric. In late 1992, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia issued a decree upgrading its eparchy of Chişinău and Moldova to a Metropolis.

Greek Catholics

Moldova also has a Greek Catholic minority, mainly among ethnic Ukrainians, although the Soviet government declared the Greek Catholic Churches illegal in 1946 and forcibly united them with the Russian Orthodox Church. However, the Greek Catholic Churches had survived underground until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Roman Ctholics

Half of Moldova's Roman Catholics are in Chişinău, and 1/5 in Bălţi.

Old Believers

In addition, the Old Russian Orthodox Church (Old Believers) had fourteen churches and one monastery in Moldova in 1991.

Half of Moldova's Old Believers are in Floreşti district, and 1/5 in Sîngerei district.

Judaism

Despite the Soviet government's suppression and harassment, Moldova's practicing Jews managed to retain their religious identity. About a dozen Jewish newspapers were started in the early 1990s, and religious leaders opened a synagogue in Chişinău; there were six Jewish communities of worship throughout the country. In addition, Moldova's government created the Department of Jewish Studies at Chişinău State University, mandated the opening of a Jewish high school in Chişinău, and introduced classes in Judaism in high schools in several cities. The government also provides financial support to the Society for Jewish Culture.

Protestants

There are around 65,000 Protestants of all sects in Moldova today. There are more than 1,000 Baptists in the cities of Chişinău and Bălţi, in Cahul, Făleşti, Hînceşti, Sîngerei, Ştefan Vodă, and Ungheni districts, and in Găgăuzia. There are more than 1,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Cahul, Hînceşti and Sîngerei districts, and in Găgăuzia, there are more than 1,000 Penticostals in Chişinău and in Briceni district. There are more than 1,000 members of Brethren assemblies only in Chişinău. There are more than 1,000 Evangelical Synod-Presbyterians only in Chişinău.

Analysis

Moldova's territory is generally ethnically homogeneous. Moldovans form majorities in 33 of the 37 first-tier territorial units (including over 90% in 15 districts, between 80% and 90% in 9 districts, between 70% and 80% in 7 administrative units, and between 50% and 60% in two units), and a 33.5% plurality in Transnistria, where there are 32% Ukrainians and 27% Russians. Gagauzians represent an 82% majority in the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia, with only 5% Moldovans. Bulgarians represent a 66% majority in the Taraclia district, with 14% Moldovans. Finally, Russians represent a 43% plurality in the municipality of Bender, with 25% Moldovans. Ukrainians represent between 20% and 30% minorities in four units with Moldovan majority: Bălţi, Briceni, Ocniţa, and Rîşcani, and one with Moldovan plurality (Transnistria). Elsewhere, the ethnic populations are under 20% district-wise (generally much less). The Romanians are concentrated in the municipality of Chişinău, home to 44% of the Romanians in Moldova, although they represent only 4.5% of the population of the municipality.

Although before 1991 Moldova was the most densely populated of the former Soviet republics (129 inhabitants per square kilometer in 1990, compared with 13 inhabitants per square kilometer for the Soviet Union as a whole), it had and has only few large cities.

The largest and most important of these is Chişinău, the country's capital and its most important industrial center, with a population of 712,218 in 2004. The city's population is 67.62% Moldovan, 13.92% Russian, 8.28% Ukrainian, 4.5% Romanians and 5.69% others (Bulganians, Gagauzians, Jews, Poles, Gypsies, etc.). The proportion of Russophones living in Moldova decreased in the years immediately after 1989 because of the emigration to Russia, after an immigration from Russia had taken place during the Soviet period.

The second largest city in the country, Tiraspol, had a population of 184,000 in 1990. Located in Transnistria, with a population of 158,069 in 2004, it is the capital of the breakaway republic. In contrast to Chişinǎu, Tiraspol has only some 15% Moldovans, with Russians comprising 41.7%, and Ukrainians 33%. Due to deportations by the breakaway authorities, and emigration during and after the 1992 War of Transnistria, it has been reported that the Moldovan and Romanian populations have gone down by up to 10,000 since 1990.

Other important cities include Bălţi, with a population of 162,000 in 1990, and 127,561 in 2004, and Bender, with a population of 132,000 in 1990 and 100,169 in 2004. Other major cities include Rîbniţa, population 53,648, Cahul, population 35,488, Ungheni, population 32,530, Soroca, population 28,362, and Orhei, population 25,641.

Traditionally a predominantly rural country, Moldova gradually began changing its character in the 20th century. As urban areas became the sites of new industrial and intellectual jobs and amenities such as hospitals, the population of cities and towns grew. The Soviets kept the population of Moldova under control with the famous Soviet policy of propiska, which forbade a person to live in another locality than the one written in his or her identity documents without approval of Soviet authorities. The new residents of Moldova's cities during the Soviet era were not only Moldovans, who had moved from the nearby rural areas, but also many Russians and Ukrainians who had been recruited to fill positions in industry and government, moving in from other parts of the Soviet Union.

Many people emigrated to Romania in 1940 (estimated at 200,000) and 1944 (estimated at more than 200,000), and others had lost their lives during the war (over 100,000 as Soviet soldiers in 1944–1945, and up to 50,000 as Romanian soldiers before 1944, including as Soviet POWs in 1944–1945), in Stalinist persecutions (over 8,000 executed, ca. 50,000 sent to Gulag, over 200,000 deported), and during the 1946–1947 famine (216,000 deceased). During the 1940s, thousands of young people were recruited to work in large-scale Soviet construction projects. Then, as a consequence of industrial growth after 1956, there was significant immigration to the Moldavian SSR by representatives of other ethnic groups, especially Russians and Ukrainians.

At the time of the 1989 census, Moldova's total population was 4,335,400. The largest ethnic group, Moldovans, numbered 2,795,000, accounting for 64.5% of the population. The other major ethnicities were Ukrainians, about 600,000 (14%); Russians, about 562,000 (13.0%); Gagauz, about 153,000 (4%); Bulgarians, about 88,000 (2%); and Jews, about 66,000 (2.0%). There were also smaller but appreciable numbers of Poles and Roma in the population. In Transnistria ethnic Moldovans accounted for 40% of the population in 1989, followed by Ukrainians (28%), and Russians (25%). In the early 1990s, there was significant emigration from the republic, primarily from urban areas and mainly by non-Moldovan minorities. Moldovans made up a sizable proportion of the urban population in 1989 (about half the population of Chişinǎu and other cities), as well as a large proportion of the rural population (over 85%), but only 23% of the ethnic Moldovans lived in the republic's ten largest cities, with the rest of the community being predominantly rural.

Unlike Moldovans, Russians tend to be urban dwellers in Moldova; more than 72% of them lived in the ten largest cities in 1989. Many of them came to the Moldova after it was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Some of them came to alleviate the postwar shortage of qualified labor in the Moldavian SSR, which was created by the rapid industrialization, but also by the loss of human life during the war, deportations, and famine. Ethnic Russians settled mainly in Chişinǎu, Bălţi, Bender, and in the cities of the eastern bank of the Dniester, such as Tiraspol, Rîbniţa, and Dubăsari. Only about 25% of Moldova's Russians lived in Transnistria in 1990, as many as in Chişinǎu alone.

In 1990, Moldova's divorce rate of 3.0 divorces per 1,000 population had risen from the 1987 rate of 2.7 divorces per 1,000 population. The usual stresses of marriage were exacerbated by a society in which women were expected to perform most of the housework in addition to their work outside the home. Compounding this were crowded housing conditions (with their resulting lack of privacy) and the growing economic crisis.

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